Financial Opportunity Corps

The Financial Opportunity Corps recruits and trains volunteers as financial coaches who help people from low- and moderate-income households achieve financial stability. The program is a partnership between Points of Light, Bank of America and the Corporation for National and Community Service. It includes 20 AmeriCorps VISTA members serving nonprofit organizations in 10 cities around the country and will expand to more cities this year.

From Philadelphia to Detroit to San Jose, the Financial Opportunity Corps is having an impact.

“My coach helps me to look at my finances with a new perspective and helps me to set small, achievable goals to help me build confidence in my ability to manage my money,” said Cat, a Financial Opportunity Corps participant in Philadelphia. (Read more of Cat's story here.)

Jamal, a volunteer Financial Opportunity Corps Coach in Hartford, Connecticut, said of the coaching experience and his client, Linda: “For me, it has been a pleasure. The Financial Opportunity Corps training equipped me well for this experience. I did not feel compelled to be the expert in Linda’s life. All she needed was some good conversation, a little light and the confidence to get started on the pathway to her goals.” (Read more of Jamal’s story here.)

Over the past three years, the Financial Opportunity Corps (FOC), a partnership between Points of Light, Bank of America, and the Corporation of National and Community Service has helped hundreds reach financial sustainability. Unlike other financial coaching services, FOC offers this service free of charge for economically disadvantaged individuals and families. That’s because FOC uses skill-based volunteers as financial coaches in a one-to-one setting. As a result, FOC participants achieve their financial goals through expanded financial knowledge, improved spending and saving habits, and a growth in personal confidence.